Foreign military support for the Afghan government of Pres. Hamid Karzai peaked at about 150,000 troops during 2010, but insurgent attacks increased in intensity and extent. Afghan support for foreign troops faltered, however, when civilians were killed, and NATO shifted its strategy from counterterrorism, which focused on destroying the enemy, to counterinsurgency, which aimed at protecting civilians and depriving the insurgents of support. U.S. Pres. Barack Obama promised that some U.S. forces would begin to be withdrawn in July 2011. In February 2010 NATO launched an offensive centred on a Taliban stronghold in Helmand province. Taliban control was weakened, but the goal of establishing effective government institutions there remained elusive. In September another NATO operation succeeded in reducing Taliban activity in and around Kandahar. Drawing on its experience of fighting in Iraq, the U.S. proposed arming villagers in areas beyond government control to form village police units to deal with local threats. President Karzai at first opposed the idea, but by summer the plan had been approved, and the first units had been deployed by autumn.

In the ninth year of fighting in Afghanistan, it was widely recognized that a purely military solution was unlikely, and resolution of the conflict required other approaches as well. At a conference in London in January 2010, Karzai presented a program for reconciling with and reintegrating insurgents. Those who renounced violence, refused to support al-Qaeda, and accepted Afghanistan’s constitution would be welcomed with aid and jobs. The idea was endorsed by the international community, and in June Karzai summoned a meeting of 1,600 leading Afghans to offer advice on reconciliation. One result was the appointment in September of a 70-member High Peace Council. Pakistan insisted on participating in any negotiations, but some Afghans distrusted that country because of its close links to the Taliban and looked instead to Saudi Arabia to play an important role. Reports of secret talks involving Afghan, UN, and U.S. officials and Taliban representatives were denied by Taliban spokesmen, who publicly rejected all offers of reconciliation. Human rights activists worried that a deal with the Taliban might come at the expense of hard-won rights for Afghan women.

Following the massive fraud that occurred during the 2009 presidential election, the demand for government reform increased, both inside and outside Afghanistan. Entrenched corruption, especially among police and government authorities, turned Afghans against their government and made NATO’s counterinsurgency mission more difficult. The international community had come to see President Karzai as the main obstacle to reform, while Karzai accused non-Afghans of interfering with and ignoring Afghanistan’s sovereignty. He objected to NATO operations that caused many civilian casualties and chafed when pressured by foreigners to adjust his government to accommodate their interests. He also said that aid that donor countries spent without Afghan government oversight was the cause of corruption and, in the case of private security firms contracted by foreigners, a source of violence. In a July conference, Karzai’s finance minister, Omar Zakhilwal, asked that at least half the aid to Afghanistan be channeled through Afghan ministries, and in August Karzai decreed that all private security firms, domestic and foreign, would be banned. Confrontation with Karzai became so serious that some in the U.S. administration felt that a focus on eliminating corruption might conflict with strategic U.S. interests.

Elections for the lower house of Afghanistan’s parliament were due in 2010, but the taint of fraud on the previous year’s presidential election put a fair vote in doubt. Karzai insisted that the election be held by May, as the constitution required, but many international leaders demanded a delay, citing the need for electoral reform. In late January Karzai reluctantly agreed to postpone the vote until September 18. The balloting was to be run by an Independent Election Commission (IEC) and a separate Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC), including non-Afghans, to adjudicate fraud cases. In February Karzai moved to take control of the ECC. The lower house blocked that attempt, and, under pressure from his Western allies, Karzai backed down.

By June there were 2,577 candidates, including 405 women, standing for 249 seats. Several candidates and their supporters were killed while campaigning, and security concerns kept almost 14% of polling stations closed, but 5.6 million Afghans defied Taliban threats and voted. Thousands of complaints were filed, and the IEC disqualified nearly one-fourth of the ballots while the ECC disqualified 19 winning candidates. The final results, announced in November, showed that the Pashtun contingent had lost about 26 seats, prompting fresh claims of vote rigging. In December Karzai established a special tribunal to investigate the complaints.

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